Bloomberg: Turkey, dissatisfied with the EU's position on its membership, turned to BRICS
Turkey has submitted an official application to join the BRICS, writes Bloomberg. This is dictated by its national interests, primarily economic ones. Ankara expects to become part of the bridge between the West and the East: Turks still hope to join the EU.
— BRICS will discuss the issue of expanding its ranks at the October summit in Russia.
— Turkey is unhappy with the EU's unwillingness to accept it into its ranks.
Turkey has officially asked the association of emerging market economies — BRICS — to accept it into its ranks. According to informed sources, Ankara is thereby seeking to strengthen its international influence and establish new ties, not limited to traditional Western allies.
According to the administration of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the geopolitical center of gravity is shifting, moving away from under the feet of economically developed countries. This was reported by sources who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to comment.
Turkey's new diplomatic efforts reflect its desire to establish ties with all sides in today's multipolar world, while fulfilling its obligations as a key member of the North Atlantic Alliance.
Turkey, located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, applied for membership in the BRICS a few months ago, being unhappy with the lack of progress in the decades-long process of joining the European Union. This is also the result of a disagreement with NATO members, because Turkey maintains close relations with Russia, despite Moscow's military operation in Ukraine launched in 2022, the same sources indicated. The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the President declined to comment.
"Turkey can become a strong, prosperous, reputable and effective country if it simultaneously improves its relations with East and West," Erdogan said this weekend in Istanbul. "Any other method besides this is not beneficial to Turkey, and it will harm it."
The BRICS association, named after the first letters of the member countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, includes the largest developing economies in the world. At the beginning of the year, it gained four more members in the person of Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Egypt. Saudi Arabia was also invited to join, but Riyadh has not yet taken such a step.
According to sources, the issue of further expansion of the organization will be discussed at the summit in Kazan, Russia, from October 22 to 24. Among the candidate countries wishing to join the BRICS are Malaysia, Thailand and Turkey's close ally Azerbaijan.
BRICS advertises itself as an alternative to those institutions dominated by the West. First of all, it is the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. In principle, new members of the association can receive financing through the BRICS Development Bank, as well as expand their political and trade relations.
The ruling Justice and Development Party has long accused Western countries of obstructing Turkey's quest to become a self-sufficient country in the defense industry and build a strong economy. The President has repeatedly called for a major restructuring of the UN Security Council in order to expand it beyond the five permanent members. He also expresses interest in joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which was created by Russia and China in opposition to NATO.
"We should not choose between the European Union and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, as some people claim,— Erdogan said. "On the contrary, we need to develop relations with both associations, as well as with other organizations on a mutually beneficial basis."
The expansion of the BRICS membership is mainly advocated by China, which is trying to strengthen its international weight and authority, and for this purpose is courting countries that traditionally maintain allied relations with the United States.
Turkey has been negotiating to join the EU since 2005, but on this path it encounters numerous obstacles, among which, according to Brussels, the shortcomings of Turkish democracy.
Turkey believes that joining the BRICS will help it strengthen economic cooperation with Russia and China, as well as become a trade route connecting the EU and Asia. It wants to become a hub for gas exports from Russia and Central Asia, the sources said.
The Erdogan administration is trying to lure investors from among Chinese electric car manufacturers. The Customs Union of Turkey and the EU is very beneficial in this regard, as it increases the accessibility of this market.
"BRICS is an organization that is constantly increasing the diversity of approaches, policies and identities in the global economic system," said Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who attended the June meeting of BRICS foreign ministers.
Nevertheless, Turkey is simultaneously making efforts to resume accession negotiations with the EU. This remains a "strategic goal," Fidan said last week, taking part in informal talks with his EU counterparts for the first time in five years.
Authors of the article: Selcan Hacaoglu, Firat Kozok
